What happens when state’s lottery systems are sold to private companies?

Question by Dinah: What happens when state’s lottery systems are sold to private companies?
The lottery pundits appear to think that their activities are unknown. This appears to be a way to make fewer windfalls available to the little guy, but make more money off the lottery system as a whole. It’s obviously a huge racket run for billion dollar profits. For instance, new scratch tickets are showing fewer wins but more people buying them than ever before.
pdq is upset because he spent $ 1 on a lottery ticket and only won .50 cents.

Best answer:

Answer by pdq
Yet another delusional question about the lottery.

You are right about one thing – the lottery companies are making BILLIONS of dollars! Not millions, BILLIONS.

Why are they making so much money? NOT because of any scam they are pulling. They don’t care one bit who wins and loses. As long as poor and ignorant people spend their money on these tickets, they will continue to rake the money in.

Just think about this. If I collect $ 500 MILLION dollars in the course of 1 month, and then I pay out $ 250 Million to a variety of winners, do I really care who those winner are??? NO!!! I just made a quarter of a BILLION dollar profit!!! I don’t need to rig my games. I don’t need to create some sort of conspiracy. I just need to keep hoping that ignorant folks don’t understand just how bad a bet it is that I’m offering!

I know you want to believe there is some sort of conspiracy. There isn’t. YOU aren’t winning the lottery. Why? Because you’re not supposed to.

***EDIT***

In response to the other Answerer: First of all, Nevada isn’t the “only exception”. There are quite a few states that do not have lotteries.

Second of all, the notion that this money goes to aid education is a BOGUS claim! Does ANY money end up funding education? Yes, some. Guess what? That’s what TAXES are for! The difference is, TAXES are supposed to be fair and equal. Some governments are supplementing these taxes off the backs of POOR and IGNORANT people! Do you realize that no other class of people spend a higher percentage of their income on lottery tickets than do the poor?

You are making stuff up based on nonsense you once heard. None of what you said has merit.

***RE-EDIT***

Dinah doesn’t like my answers because she doesn’t like to accept the truth.

Comments

They do make billions of dollars off of a “hidden” tax. Usually use it to fund schools though. It is illegal by most states to sell lotteries to private companies. Nevada is the only exception where there is no lottery since they make enough income by taxing the casinos and tourists.

The state gets a large up front payment that it uses to provide services.

The private company that purchased the lottery gets the profits earned by the lottery for the length of the contract with the state. Those profits cover what was paid to the state in that huge lump sum.

States who do this want their lottery profits up front in a huge lump sum to cover short term problems. Hopefully that will work out in the long run. But I would not hold my breath expecting that.